Reprinted from "Gold Fever" - The World's GreatestGold Camp in Picture, Song,and Story by "The Hard Rock Poet." Copyright (c) 1954 by Rufus L. Porter, "The Hard Rock Poet." Used with the permission of Norma Porter Enders.

Rufus L. Porter was a well-known local literary figure in the Pikes Peak region during the 1950s until his death in 1979. Dubbed "The Hard Rock Poet," Porter first came to Cripple Creek-Victor in 1917 to work in the mines.